


Breaking the Ice

by OfTheFlamingHeart



Series: Frosted Memories [2]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 14:38:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5590030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfTheFlamingHeart/pseuds/OfTheFlamingHeart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack is on the run from the Guardians and running out of power.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Crossing the Pacific had been an ordeal. Jack felt like he was fighting the wind half the time and he was sure he'd been blown off course. He hadn't realized exactly how far off course, but when he saw the Golden Gate Bridge, he felt a stab of surprise. California? Jack thought. How had that happened? At worst, he thought Northern Mexico, but San Francisco?

He gave in and made landfall, exhausted in a way he hadn't been since fighting against PItch. Jack took stock of his powers and realized he was coming up short. Something was putting a drain on his abilities and he couldn't place it. He only had one idea as far as getting some answers, but the informant in question had a...checkered past when it came to his relationship to Jack. Although, Jack realized, it was mostly his own fault that he and the Groundhog didn't get along.

Phil was bound to be in San Fransisco this time of year; he'd always loved sunny California. Why he didn't make it his permanent home was beyond Jack, but that was the Groundhog's decision. Besides the sun, the Groundhog loved the old tunnels in San Fransisco. He'd even taken to vacationing in a mostly abandoned subway station. Of course, Jack hadn't ever been to it, but he had heard about Phil's off-season habits from the Tooth Fairy.

With his abilities exhausted, Jack took to the streets and walked, something he hadn't done for extended periods of time in years. For once, he was grateful he didn't have any believers in the city, he went unnoticed. By the time he made it to the old station, he was about spent physically and he slipped through the locked doors like they weren't there.

After a cursory look around the old station, he realized Phil wasn't around. He tried calling out to Phil, but then wondered if Phil would even show. The Groundhog had skittish tendencies in all the times that Jack had ever seen him. Of course, Jack had probably exploited that weakness one or two (dozen) times. Jack put a hand up to his forehead in frustration. Should he really be blaming himself now? Sure he'd tormented the Groundhog, but the guy possessed the ability to make winter longer or shorter just by when he left his burrow on one day of the year! If he hadn't, then his own fun would be cut short and he'd have to move on to the next Wintering place.

Jack closed his eyes for a moment, glad that Jamie never knew about the Groundhog. He'd never told Jamie about all the other non-Guardian immortals, although he suspected Jamie guessed about a few of them. And just like that, Jack caught himself thinking about Jamie. It had only been a few weeks since the tragedy, but every time he started thinking about his boyfriend, his soul-mate, he felt a terrible pain in his heart. Jack leaned against the wall.

That's when his feet left the floor and it had nothing to do with his own powers. A big furry paw had closed around Jack's neck and lifted him up by his throat. Jack's eyes snapped open and he looked straight into the face of a very angry and very large Groundhog.

"Hey, Phil. Long time no see." Jack tried to say casually. It came out a bit more raspy than he had intended. His only response was a low growl.

With an effort, Jack summoned his staff. It was a trick he'd figured out only in the last few months; he could make his staff appear out of- or disappear into- thin air. It took too long this time, and the effort combined with being strangled nearly made him pass out. Effortlessly, the Groundhog knocked Jack's weapon out of his hand with the paw not holding him to the wall.

Jack placed both of his hands on the Groundhog's wrist, trying to get some leverage so he could breathe. Not that he needed to breathe exactly, but without air he would have a very hard time talking. "Phil, hear me out." He croaked.

"NO!" Phil roared in his face. "This is going TOO FAR, Frost! You torment me enough on the one day a year when I have a job to do. Now you come and find me on my off-season! This is why I come to California in the summer; to get away from you!"

Jack tried desperately to make ice on the Groundhog's wrist, but nothing was happening. Luckily this went unnoticed, but Phil continued. "What's the practical joke this time? Going to freeze my paw to some subway tracks? Huh? Or maybe you'll stick to your old favorite, dropping snow on my head? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" This last sentence saw Phil emphasize each word by slamming Jack against the wall repeatedly. Jack felt dizzy and more than a bit scared by now.

"I'm…sorry." Jack managed a small whisper. In shock, the Groundhog dropped Jack.

Hitting the ground in an unceremonious heap, Jack gasped for air. He looked up, and realized just how much taller the Groundhog was. Phil was taller than the Easter Bunny! The Groundhog took a step back and light filtered around the massive immortal. "You're sorry? Years of torturing me on the worst possible day and all you have to say is you're sorry?"

"I...shouldn't have treated you...like that." Jack wheezed. "I just...didn't want winter to end so soon those years."

"So that's why you put me through that all these years?" Phil crossed his arms over his chest. "You did all that just to keep having fun?"

Jack struggled to sit up and finally managed to get his back up against the wall for support. "More than that." Breathing was getting a bit easier. "I thought I was close to getting a believer. So I tricked you into making winter longer so I could keep working on the child." Jack coughed a few times but felt a bit better. "Didn't matter, though." Jack laughed bitterly. "Each one of them never became my first believer."

"Yeah, that only happened recently." Phil said with a bit of a smug look on his face. "How is your first believer? He must be an adult by now, these humans have a way of getting old fast."

"He's dead." Jack said, his voice filled with sadness.

Embarrassed, the Groundhog stammered out a reply. "Oh, ah, well."

"Save it." Jack said as he shakily got to his feet. "I guess I should have known better than to expect you to care about me. I've been a pain in your furry behind for too many years. I just thought...you know what? I wasn't thinking." He turned to leave. "Bye Phil, I won't bother you again."

Phil actually let Jack take a few steps towards the door before stopping him. "Jack!" He said finally. "Follow me."

The Groundhog led him to an old maintenance closet and ushered Jack in. The closet was actually a lot bigger that Jack thought it would be, but then again the Groundhog was very good with making a den.

"Alright, what's the story?"

Jack told the Groundhog everything. The stupid jealousy that Jack felt anytime Claire was around, the kiss that had driven Jack away right before Jamie would need him most, and his maddening search through the wreckage. He told Phil about Sophie's letter and the ominous reply she got from North.

"So now what? You're on the run from the Guardians and trying to clear your name at the same time?" The Groundhog whistled low. "That's a tall order."

Jack heaved a sigh. "Don't I know it?" Casually, he flipped up the hood of his blue jacket, but not before Phil saw the glistening on his cheek.

Awkwardly, Phil got up and walked over to his makeshift kitchen. As an immortal, he didn't really have to eat, but he found it nice every once in a while to indulge himself. Luckily, he still had some hot chocolate left and he had it ready in a minutes.

Turning back around, Phil saw Jack holding his face with both hands. The young immortal's shoulders were shaking with quiet sobs. A bit unsure, Phil decided to at least try to help Jack in the small way he could. He set the hot chocolate to one side and sat down next to his former tormentor. When Jack turned in surprise, Phil pulled him into a side hug by one massive arm.

Shocked, Jack almost resisted, but then Phil spoke. "Jack, you've been through hell and you look worse. And the people who ought to be helping you are hunting you down. Just let it all out, the sooner the better." Jack felt overwhelmed at the gesture and relented. He sobbed shamelessly into the fur of the Groundhog. For his part, Phil alternated between patting Jack's back and rubbing a paw through Jack's hair consolingly. He murmered a few comforting phrases, ran out of those and switched to humming a few songs in his deep bass voice.

When Jack was finally dried out; a process that took longer than either immortals realized, he pulled away from the Groundhog. "Thanks, I didn't realize I needed that." Phil rolled his eyes as if to say obviously and Jack continued. "But I came here because I think I'm getting weaker. My powers, I've never had to fight with them like I've done lately."

Phil considered Jack thoughtfully. The Groundhog is THE expert at sensing the flow of energy. His job was to gather the necessary energy to help change the season and on Groundhog's Day, either release it or hold on to the energy a bit longer and add to it. After a brief glance, Phil frowned. "Well, that's odd."

Jack didn't know how to respond. Finally he settled with a very confused, "What?"

Phil seemed to remember that Jack was there and he scratched his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry, here, stand up and let me get a good look at you."

Jack got up, feeling sore from crying and from sitting for too long. He was unsteady for a bit before he got hold of himself. Turning to face the Groundhog, he awaited the expert's opinion. That's when he noticed the furry immortal's eyes were closed.

"Um, Phil?" Jack asked, wondering how he could fall asleep like that.

"I'm not looking with my eyes, but with my mind." Phil answered, slight irritation registering in his tone.

"Oh, sorry." Jack said quickly.

"Shh. I'm concentrating." Phil rebuked

"Sor-" Jack almost apologized again but managed to shut his mouth in time.

After a full minute had passed, Jack was starting to feel really uneasy. Why was it taking so long? A few long seconds later, Phil's eyes opened again and he spoke. "Well, I've got a few theories."

Jack only just managed not to sigh in frustration. He was hoping for answers, not theories. At this point, though, he was willing to take what he could get. "Okay." He folded his arms across his chest to keep him from shaking.

"Here, let's switch places while I explain. You should probably be sitting for this."

Jack almost objected out of nerves alone, but then realized there was a slight shake in his knees. Wordlessly he switched places so that Phil was standing and he sat on the couch.

"From what I can tell, there is a definite drain on your powers. Unfortunately I can't pinpoint the source." Jack's shoulders fell in disappointment. "However, I do have a few ideas."

"Let's hear them." Jack said, unenthusiastically.

Phil ignored the tone and continued. "I can think of three reasons why you would lose power. The first is that you've been kicked out of the Guardians. As a Guardian, your powers are augmented by your believers. That's why the Guardians lost so much power during the battle with Pitch; they rely exclusively on that source of power. But you were fairly strong even without having any believers so you shouldn't be suffering from this level of power loss if that was the case. Also, from what I understand it should be impossible to cut your Guardianhood without you present."

"The next likelihood is that you've been out of your season for too long. This is the most likely, as your abilities are winter based and you've been in the summer, in Hawaii no less, for a month. Being out of your element like that is very taxing on your abilities and could lead them to break down. The biggest problem here is how to get you back in your element. It would be easy to go back to Burgess or even up to the far north but then you run the risk of meeting up with the Guardians, which I doubt you'd want to do."

"Not in my condition, no." Jack answered hastily.

"Well then, the question then becomes how to get you back in your element. I think you'll have to try going south, for the Winter." Phil chuckled a bit at his little joke. Jack wasn't as amused.

"Flying is already difficult and unless you've forgotten, there are large stretches of desert between me and the southern hemisphere." Jack said icily.

"True, but you don't want to go by sea. For one, the Guardians are probably searching coastlines on both sides of the Pacific. For another, you probably shouldn't be flying anyways. Night would be the most dangerous, considering Sandman and Tooth Fairy's usual operating time. You would also want to avoid children, especially at night for the same reason. North and Bunny are more dangerous considering their usual temperament, but Tooth and Sandy are more likely to find you." Jack nodded, the Groundhog made a lot of sense.

"So I'll be fairly low powered for some time. Still doesn't answer how I'm going to make it to the South." Jack sighed; stymied at the problem.

"You could use the same transportation humans do. I wouldn't take a cruise, but planes, cars, buses and such should be good. Just be sure to avoid any sleeping children and you'll be okay.

"Well, thanks Phil, I think I should...wait." Jack paused as he stood up to leave. "You said there were three reasons that my powers would be diminishing. You only mentioned two; losing Guardianhood and being out of my season. So what's the third one?"

Phil paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. He had avoided this last subject and had hoped Jack wouldn't notice his slip up. "I don't want you to get paranoid, because I don't know of anyone still alive with this ability." At the insistent look on Jack's face, Phil relented with a sigh. "You might have been cursed. A curse like this is something I haven't seen in many centuries, long before my holiday was recognized. The last one I knew was an immortal that is now dead. A few humans have had the ability to place curses, but they are even more rare."

"Do you know anyone who would know?" Jack asked. He wasn't sure why he was pursuing this lead. Maybe he wanted a backup in case going south didn't work.

Phil shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe Mother Nature. But she's not easy to find. Her island is somewhere along the equator. It keeps moving, so it's impossible to say where it is now. But again, that's a big risk searching the ocean with the Guardians on the hunt for you "

"I know. I just wanted to have all the information in front of me. Thanks Phil, for everything." Jack managed a tired turned to leave.

"Well, don't go yet!" Phil stopped him. "It's going to be dark soon and you haven't slept in at least a day. You can stay the night here."

"I don't know how to thank you." Jack said.

"Just prove your innocence. That'll be enough for me."

The day after Jack left, Phil faced two very angry Guardians.

"You told him what?" Tooth practically seethed.

"I just gave him a few common-sense tips on how to avoid you." Phil sighed. "And considering how quickly you got on his trail, you can see why that was necessary, given what he knew. How did you track him down, anyway?"

Sandy waved his hand at him and Phil suppressed a groan. He wasn't one for guessing games and the Sandman's method of communication (dream sand constructs above his head) could be hard to interpret. Luckily, Tooth spared him, taking charge of the conversation so they could finish as quickly as possible and get back to searching for Jack. "Sandy noticed a big up-tick in the number of children's dreams dealing with snow in the area. Even kids who've never been outside of the city were dreaming about sledding and ice-skating. Jack's still projecting a bit of energy around him without knowing he's doing it."

The Groundhog nodded, it had been a source of confusion when he looked over Jack to see the ambient energy radiating off of him but he'd written it off as some Guardian thing. Jack had never had the problem before, otherwise Phil would have noticed him coming and saved himself a few headaches. "Well, there you have it! I figured he needed to stay away from sleeping children if he wanted to avoid you."

The Tooth Fairy was having none of this. She fluttered up right in his face and prodded his chest as she spoke. "He should have trusted us to hear him out! You should have known us better than to think we would simply..."

"Blind-side him with a bag and toss him through a portal?" Phil offered as she stammered to find words through her rage.

"That was NORTH'S idea! AND that was years ago!" She dropped back down to the ground and sat down. "We need to find him, Phil. If he's really losing power like you say he is, then he's not the only one."

That got his attention. "Is this happening to all of you Guardians?"

Sandy shook his head. To prove it, he produced his dream-sand whips and gave them a few hearty cracks. Phil looked at Tooth, who shrugged, split into two and then fused back together. "Not us, but Cupid has come to us with a similar problem and who knows who could be next?"

"I don't know what to tell you other than to keep doing what you're doing. If he's putting off enough energy to affect dreams, then he'll be easy to spot. And if you really are going to give him a chance, then I'll tell you that he's probably using human modes of transportation. His goal is the South Pole, but once he gets there it'll be that much harder to track him. Even more so if that gives him back his powers."

"Let's go Sandy." Tooth turned to leave, but then quickly changed her mind and turned back on the Groundhog. "And if I ever catch you helping people escape from us, I'll knock every tooth out of your burrow-loving head!"

Sandy gently pulled the Tooth Fairy away from the Groundhog, smiling apologetically. As they left, Phil sighed. Jack was in more trouble than either of them had realized. Phil hoped that Sandy and Tooth would find him soon.


	2. Chapter 2

"Luck is on your side, laddie, I can feel it." The Leprechaun said as Jack entered the old bar.

"What in the world are you doing in Phoenix?" Jack asked.

The Leprechaun laughed. "I could very well ask you the same question, Frosty."

At Jack's pissed-off look, the Irishman rolled his eyes. "Fine, your old pal Paddy tends to prefer less rainy areas these days, let's just leave it at that." Jack raised an eyebrow, but let it slide. "How did you find me if you didn't know I was here?"

"I guessed. Did you know the only thing green in this neighborhood is the little field of four leaf clovers growing through the parking lot here?" Jack asked mockingly.

Paddy sighed. "Can't be helped. They tend to follow me like cold weather is drawn to you. Speaking of which, you'll need to leave town soon, sorry you're visit was so short." Paddy turned to leave the bar, place was dry as a bone anyway.

Jack snorted. "There's only one thing short around here, Lucky Paddy and that's you. Trying to get rid of me?"

Paddy stopped and turned back to face the white-haired immortal. "Word travels, Jackie, even to a dusty oven like this. And there's a story about you that makes me more than a bit leery of dealing with the like of you."

Jack stiffened in surprise. "Who could've?" Then it hit him. "Bunnymund." He didn't have to look at the Irish immortal to know he'd guessed right.

Paddy nodded anyway. "Aye, 'twas Mr. E. Aster himself what told me. I'd come to visit like I usually did near summer's end, but he had none of his usual cheer."

"Like the Bunny is known for being cheerful." Jack replied in a tone as dry as the city. Paddy ignored him.

"And he says to me, Paddy, he says, that blasted Frost has gone and done a horrible wrong. Then he says he hasn't the time for ol' Paddy at the moment, because he was busy training eggs to look for you. Or trying to, leastways, mind you, since most of his eggs were either too fresh or else spoiled." Paddy took a breath and kept a close eye on Jack as he spoke. "Finally I get to hear that you went and killed a believer. Not only did you kill a believer, he was your first."

"And I was dating him." Jack said suddenly. "Did Bunny tell you that? How about the field of icebergs that the ship ran into before it blew up, did he mention that? Or how the Guardians decided to hunt me down rather than actually listen to me?" Jack was emotional, but controlled his temper. He knew Paddy was just itching for an excuse to disappear and tell the Guardians where he was.

"No, he neglected to mention any of that. However, that doesn't make you look any better. Just gives you more motive and a a method." Paddy folded his arms across his chest. "Why are yiu here, Jack Frost?"

"My powers are fizzling out. I can barely make ice and I can't fly for more than a few miles. I think it has to do with..."

"All the power that you're leaking?" The Leprechaun asked.

"What?" Jack managed to ask after adjusting to the shock.

"Yep, it's probably seeping out of you and into your surroundings. It's very faint, I wouldn't have noticed usually, but I am pretty lucky." He answered.

Thinking for a moment, Jack made a decision. "Can you help me fix that? Please?"

Paddy clenched his fists. His face remained remarkably calm. "Now why would I help you? We barely know each other Frost. You seemed keen on getting a believer to see you. Until the Guardians chose you. I figured you'd never consider becoming friendly with the folks who could see you. And now you're apparently responsible for killing your first believer in a lover's quarrel! Things don't look good for you, Jack."

"Do they add up to you? You're no stranger to the odds, luckster. So what are the odds I would kill my boyfriend and first believer?" Jack stuck his hand in his pockets to keeo them from shaking.

A long pause fell between them. Paddy looked Jack straight in the eyes and Jack didn't flinch away. Finally, the Leprechaun spoke. "Suppose I believe you. Why are you running from the Guardians?"

"I have to find out who killed Jamie. There's...someone very important to me that I need to convince. She's a mortal so I don't know how much time I'll have. I can't let the Guardians stop me or distract me. And having this problem with my powers is driving me insane." Jack said, eyes never wavering from Paddy's.

"I don't know..." Paddy said uncertainly.

"The Groundhog believed me." Jack said. "He even told me how to evade the Guardians and gave me the first clue to finding Mother Nature."

"Her island on the equator." Paddy said simply.

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess." Paddy said. Jack was sure there was more to it than that but he didn't want to press the issue. "Fine, laddy. I can help you close the leak. Mind you, it'll take time to regain what you've lost, even after I seal the leak. You'll need to recharge in the Antarctic for about six months and then stick to your own season for another three. By then you should be close to normal."

Jack nodded, trying not to look as disappointed as he felt. So much for hitting the equator soon, Jack thought. "Should I sit or what?"

"Either way, you'll likely end up on the ground at some point." Paddy said. He threw his hand outward, palm out and pointed at Jack. A bright green light in a familiar U shape formed a few inches from his hand.

"Is that a horse shoe?" Jack asked, before it shot towards him and knocked him out cold.


	3. Chapter 3

"What did you do to me?" Jack asked groggily. He was on his back in some abandoned bar with the Leprechaun; beyond that Jack was fuzzy on the details.

"Sorry about that, lad. Packed a bit more punch than I anticipated." The Leprechaun said contritely as he helped Jack into a sitting position. "My magic is all about luck. I can direct it towards fixing a problem, but there are side effects."

"Side effects?" Jack asked as the room spun once more around on him.

"Well, you're feeling it, fella." Paddy said by way of explanation. When Jack could focus, he glared at the Leprechaun. "Okay, so the good luck I used on you to fix your leaky powers also came with some bad luck. Can't pick up one end of a horseshoe without grabbing the other, if you take my meaning."

"So I feel lousy..." Jack started to stand up, but couldn't quite get his feet beneath him.

Paddy kept a firm hand on his shoulder to keep Jack down. "...Because you got a sudden influx of bad luck. Since I was fixing something within you, the bad luck went in you too and wreaked havoc on your health. It'll pass though." Somehow Jack felt less than comfortable considering his current vulnerability.

"So you hit me with bad and good luck?" Jack asked thickly.

Paddy sighed. "Yeah. Hit you really hard by the looks of it. Sorry to say, by the way. I could have delayed the bad luck a bit and I should have in hindsight. Trouble is when you do that the results are even less predictable. The building might have collapsed, the floor might have broken beneath you..."

"The Guardians could have shown up. Yes, I get it now." Jack said, regaining some measure of his senses. He waved off the Leprechaun and got to his feet shakily.

"Doing alrighty now?" Paddy asked.

"Yeah, when will I be able to use my powers again?" Jack shook his head as he asked Paddy.

"You're seriously depleted and worse, your body has been running on low power for such a while that it had to nearly shut down your powers just to keep going. With luck you'll be at about, oh I'd say 8% power after a good night's rest. You'll regenerate slowly at first, especially since you're not in your season. Once you hit the Antarctic you should regenerate faster. Like I said, though, it'll be months before you're back at full power." Paddy wasn't looking Jack in the eye. Jack kept trying to catch his gaze, but the Leprechaun was evading him.

"What's wrong, Paddy?" Jack asked.

The Leprechaun started, looked at Jack and away again. Finally he managed a response. "Just a bit of a niggling in my brain, don't fret yourself about it."

Jack crossed his arms and moved in front of Paddy. "What is it, Paddy?"

Paddy sighed and looked at Jack. "I've been trying to piece together what went wrong with your powers and even being out of season there are a few things that don't add up. From what Bunny told me, you were at full power over in Australia during the cold snap. Then a month and a half out of season and you're near fully drained?"

Jack took a step back and thought it out. "Groundhog said I might have been cursed, but he thought it was very unlikely."

Paddy snorted. "I should say it is. With the bad luck I could have done it, but I'd have had to touch you to push that much into it. Then you'd have a sea of good luck waiting to crash down on you and likely undo whatever I could have done. Fact is, I haven't seen an immortal or magical creature that could do this in more than a few years."

"You don't think I'm cursed?" Jack asked hopefully.

Paddy looked at him woefully. "I can't rule it out. But I don't know who could have done it. Strong immortals and creatures tend to belong to one of the many groups out there. You're old pals the Guardians, there's Mother Nature's Court of Seasons, and a few of the older races that still scrape out a living in this world. Might even be witches, although that's least likely as no one has seen one in over three hundred years."

Experimentally, Jack made a motion like he was reaching for something. His staff materialized in his hand.

"Careful." Paddy cautioned. "You strain yourself too much and you might start leaking power out again."

Jack flipped backwards into the air and stood on his staff like it was a hovering surfboard. "Speaking of which, why do you think that happened in the first place?"

"Hard to say, really. It might have been strain, or psychological trauma. Or any other number of factors and combinations thereof. Just take it slow." Paddy warned again. "I don't want to have to hit you with another blast of luck." Paddy's eyes followed Jack as he made an experimental circuit around the room.

"Funny enough, I don't want you to have to do that either." Jack decided finally as he stepped off of his staff, coming to rest in front of Paddy again. "It's not so much of a struggle anymore at least."

"Rest here for the night and then take your little journey to the Antarctic. With any luck, you'll be back to yourself again in less time than you'd think." Jack doubted that, but wasn't going to bring that up. His luck had been pretty bad lately. But then again, Paddy himself had said that good follows bad and vice versa. Maybe this was the beginning of his winning streak.

"I don't care what you did, WHY did you do it?!" Tooth snarled angrily.

Paddy felt that his luck had run out. "I took a chance on him. There are too many holes in the story for me to believe that boy could have hurt someone he cared about."

"The evidence at the time was pretty convincing." Tooth said. "And he's managed to con the Groundhog into helping him, so I guess I'm not surprised he got you too. I just wish you hadn't been so helpful. Now we have no way of tracking him."

Paddy sighed in frustration. "Haven't you been listening to me Toothiana? The boy is heading south to the Antarctic. He'll set up somewhere down there for a few months."

Tooth nearly slugged the Leprechaun in the face. She just barely managed to suppress it. Sandy patted her elbow to help her calm down. She sighed, looking about ready to cry. Unfortunately for the Leprechaun, he sneezed at this moment and drew attention back to himself. Luckily, though she looked less likely to kill him now. "Do you have any idea how big the Antarctic is? We could search for months and still miss him."

"There might be a way. But you promise me on your word as a Guardian that you will help Jack clear his name? You won't stop him at any point as long as he doesn't harm another mortal." Paddy said keenly.

Tooth answered quickly. "Yes, yes."

The Leprechaun wasn't about to let that slide. "No, I need to hear it from your lips." The Tooth Fairy gave him a withering glare. "And keep your hand where I can see them."

She huffed, raised her hands, and repeated his earlier words. "I, Toothiana, Ruler of the Tooth Fairies and Guardian of Childhood Memories do hereby promise you, Leprechaun, that I will help Jack Frost clear his name if it so be that he is innocent. I further promise to not stand in Jack's way so long as no harm comes to another mortal. Happy?"

The Leprechaun grinned. The Tooth Fairy always kept her promises, so he wasn't worried. Especially since he'd taken the extra step of having her show her hands so she couldn't cross her fingers. "Well, then you'll have my word, Tooth Fairy, that I have someone to reintroduce you to. Fair warning, though. It's not likely he'll be glad to see either of you. Then again, you might not be so enthused yourselves.


	4. Chapter 4

"You were right, Paddy." Tooth said angrily. "I'm not very enthused."

"That makes two of us. Or should we count the mute? Two and a half then?" The Boogeyman responded acidly.

Golden whips erupted from Sandy's hands and Pitch flinched backwards a step.

Paddy stepped between them. "Everyone take a deep breath, okay? Let's focus on why we're here." He turned to Tooth and Sandy. "Look, you tracked Jack to my tavern because his power was leaking out of him and affecting the dreams of children. Now that I fixed that, you need another way to track him. Here's your best chance."

"How are we supposed to trust him?"

"Why would I work with the Guardians?"

Both questions rang out simultaneously. Paddy sighed and explained. "You can trust him because he has lost a ton of power since your last battle with him." When the Bogeyman cried out in protest, Paddy silenced him. "And YOU need to find out how you lost power too. What better way than to study another immortal with a power loss problem?"

"What do you mean, he's lost power too?" Tooth asked. "He's the embodiment of fear. We broke his power source when we fought but it should have grown back eventually."

Paddy answered. "You didn't just break his power source, you turned it against him. Something made that inversion permanent. He can sense fear still, but he can't tell what they are specifically unless he has physical contact."

Sullenly, Pitch Black muttered. "This is what I get for trusting a Leprechaun."

Paddy turned on him again. "Do you want to find out what went wrong or not?" If looks could kill, the Leprechaun would be obliterated by the glare Pitch gave him. Unfazed, Paddy glared back.

Pitch relented."Fine, how about a truce." He extended a hand towards Tooth, who ignored it and stared at Paddy.

Paddy turned back to Tooth. "You promised to help Jack. Can't do that if you can't find him. So take the Boogeyman with you. If my word isn't enough to convince you, then maybe I should give you a little extra insurance."

Unconvinced, Tooth responded. "What do you mean, insurance."

"I have a weapon that once beat the king of nightmares a long time ago. It belonged to the bodyguard of the Man in the Moon." Paddy answered.

"You can't be serious. How did you get it?" Tooth asked.

"That is another story for another time. I'll give it to you and you will have a backup plan in case Pitch gets any clever ideas." Paddy ducked under the bar for a moment and pulled a long box out. "Do we have a deal?"

It had been nearly two months since Paddy helped Jack and he spent most of that time on foot. He just didn't like mortal transportation methods. But when he stopped in a south Mexican cantina he realized it was nearly the end of October. That made his decision for him, he had to catch a plane.

Unfortunately, by some miserable fluke, he'd boarded the wrong flight. He should have known to double check everything, especially when he was flying from a Mexican airline. Jack huffed, expelling some ice crystals in a puff out of his pulled up hoodie. A child stared at the crystals before they disappeared. Jack started, he hadn't meant to draw attention to himself.

Vanishing into the crowd before the child could put together what was going on, Jack decided to make the most of his stay in Rio de Janeiro. The next flight south wasn't for a few days. He might as well enjoy the sights. It had been a few decades since his last trip to Rio and a lot had changed. So many new buildings, so much activity, and after a jaunt around the city Jack figured out why.

The people were celebrating Finados, Brazil's Day of the Dead. Although he'd never really encountered the spirit of this particular holiday, he'd heard stories about La Calavera Catrina. The skeletal woman was well known in Mexico thanks to a certain artist that she'd made a believer somehow. It wasn't often that she traveled outside of her home country, but Catrina jealously guarded her holiday.

However, it wasn't La Catrina that Jack bumped into that day, but another immortal altogether. At first, Jack thought the figure was a rather tasteless celebrant with his face covered by a grinning skeletal mask. Then Jack realized he wasn't part of any procession or group and his mask was more than a little out of place in the somber, dignified way that Brazilians celebrated Finados. Actually, when he looked at the mask again, it looked more like a character from The Nightmare Before Christmas, from what he could remember from when he'd watched it with Jamie.

Ignoring the dull throb in his chest from remembering Jamie again, Jack went to investigate the strange figure. After following for a few blocks, Jack had just about worked up the nerve to confront the stranger when he disappeared around a corner. Jack bolted forward to keep the figure in sight, tearing around the corner with a little help from the wind. He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized he'd walked into a dead end. Brick walls surrounded him on three sides and behind him he heard a voice.

"Who are you? How can you see me?" The voice was a touch deeper than his. Jack steeled himself as he turned around. Yep, there stood the mysterious skeleton-masked stranger.

Out of habit, Jack fell back on his own dry punkish attitude. "I could ask you the same question." He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the wall to his left. If he just had his hood up, he would be the picture of nonchalance.

The stranger wasn't buying it. Eyes narrowed on his face from behind the white mask. Jack felt a slight shiver of unease run down his spine. "Barefoot. Blue hoodie with white snowflake marks. White hair. You're Jack Frost."

"Okay, my turn." Jack said snidely. "Nondescript black boots. Black pants and a particularly grungy looking gray hoodie. White skull mask." Jack paused for effect. "Yeah, I have no idea who you are."

The stranger held up his hand towards Jack with the palm facing skyward. Jack flinched back and took up a defensive posture. In a flash of orange, a carved smiling pumpkin appeared in his palm. Jack relaxed. "A pumpkin?"

The figure nodded. "Well, a pumpkin bomb." Without warning, Jack saw the pumpkin fly towards him. Quickly, Jack summoned a shield of ice just barely strong enough to withstand the blast. He heard laughter echo in the alley. Jack looked through his shield and saw the figure take to the air.

Throwing caution and his ice shield to the wind, Jack launched himself skyward to give chase. He summoned his staff as he went, intent on striking back at his fleeing assailant. His opponent was going for height over evasion, to Jack's initial delight.

Feeling his connection with the wind, Jack tried telling the wind to pull the other flying immortal back to him. After a few tries, Jack realized it wasn't working for some reason. Putting on an extra burst of speed, he got into the wake of the other flyer and could feel what the problem was. Jack controlled the North Wind, which was characteristically cold. His opponent had to have control over the West Wind, judging from the lukewarm wake he flew in now. This had to mean he was a seasonal, not a holiday, spirit. Just like me, Jack thought, but for the Fall.

Jack was closing in on his target. Unfortunately, the other spirit looked over his shoulder and saw Jack bearing in on him. Suddenly, the masked figure dropped out of the sky. Jack stopped in surprise for a moment and then followed suit, going into a dive straight back towards the earth.

As he fell, pumpkin bombs were shot back up ay Jack. He managed to blast them away before they exploded in his face. As he knocked yet another pumpkin away with his staff, Jack looked down towards his opponent. The masked spirit was nowhere to be seen, just the ground of a graveyard coming towards him very quickly.

Jack pulled up going from his headfirst dive into a standing position. He threw all the power he could muster into slowing his descent. Below him in the graveyard, multiple groups of people stood at various graves, honoring their dearly departed. The wind from Jack's efforts pulled at decorations and scattered flowers. The people braced themselves against the sudden gusts, some cursing softly in Portuguese.

Jack just barely managed to stop a few scant feet from the ground. When he did, he lost connection to the wind and fell the remaining few feet, landing softly on the grass. Jack fell to his knees, momentarily too weak to stand after all his exertions. He heard the laugh again and turned where he sat to see the masked immortal approaching.

"You're alright, Frost. But to be honest I expected better." Jack pulled himself upright with some help from his staff. "Woah, hold on." His opponent said, hands raised in a gesture of peace. "I just wanted to test you out. Some rumors said you'd lost your touch and I wanted to see if they were true."

"Who are you?" Jack asked, just now managing to catch his breath.

"My apologies, it was rude of me. I have a few names; tell me which one you prefer." The man starting counting off on his fingers as he spoke. "Tricker Treat, Sam Hain..."

Jack interrupted him. "Fairly sure that last pun is based on a mispronunciation."

Eyes rolled behind the mask. "Fine. How about Hal O'Ween?"

"Who came up with that? The Leprechaun?" Jack asked derisively.

"Actually, yes." Jack rolled his eyes now. "Well? Any of those okay with you?"

"What do you call yourself?" Jack asked.

"Jack O'Lantern." He answered. "Jacko for short."

"Jacko works." Jack answered. "I'd say nice to meet you, but it has been pretty rough on me, actually."

Jacko shifted uneasily. "Sorry. Guess we both overdid it." They both looked around and saw the groups around them collecting scattered flowers and fixing decorations.

"Do you have somewhere we can go. I'm not fond of graveyards." Jack said evenly. He took a step towards Jacko but nearly lost his balance. He gripped his staff tightly. In a flash, Jacko was there, pulling Jack's arm over his shoulder and steadying him with an arm around his waist. Jack tried pulling away, but he was gripped more tightly.

"Let me help you." Jacko said sincerely. "It's my fault for pushing you this far." Jack gave up and let the immortal lead him out of the graveyard and down the street. They turned down the dead end alley where they'd first met and Jack resisted again. Again, he failed to free himself. "It's okay, my place is hidden here." He explained.

"Let's get you inside. You can rest up and we can get better acquainted." He reached out and tapped at a brick. The false wall disappeared and a door emerged and opened.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack Frost looked around at the inside of the magical space. It was no bigger than your typical studio apartment, but it looks fairly welcoming. His host, Jack O'Lantern helped him sit down on a surprisingly comfortable couch. "What is this place?"

Jacko straightened himself as he spoke. "It's my home." Jack's eyes narrowed and his host relented. "Okay, yes I know what you actually meant. Think of it as a magical mobile home. When I want to move the place, I just turn the doorknob the left three times and it detaches from the wall. Whenever I want to set it back up, I put the knob on a wall and it attaches automatically."

"Did you make that?" Jack asked, having never heard of such a thing.

"No, I got it from Paddy." Jacko answered.

"He's never mentioned you." Jack said shortly. Even Jack couldn't say exactly why he was so short-tempered with O'Lantern. Maybe it was because of their fight just a few minutes ago. Jack had chased the mysterious masked figure through the skies of Rio de Janeiro. Of course, he over exerted himself; Jack's powers were still recovering and Rio was not in the middle of it's cold season.

Jacko put his hood down, but curiously left the mask on. He ran his hand through his slightly shaggy brown hair. "Well, I'm kinda new. This is my first true season and it's been...interesting getting used to my powers. Not to mention the number of other immortals!"

Jacko pulled up a chair across from his guest and started speaking very animatedly. Jack envied his energy. "So there I was, on a beach in Alaska, and I start walking around. I get to be nearby town and tried talking to the locals but of course..."

"They went right through you, completely unaware of your presence." Jack said ruefully, remembering his own very similar experience.

"Right! Well, just as I'm about to freak out, who walks out of the local pub? Some little Irish guy dressed in green. And he look straight at me!" Jack noticed the smile on O'Lantern's mask seemed just a touch bigger than he remembered.

"He start talking to me, albeit a bit tipsy from the drinking he'd been doing, and he takes me back to his place. Paddy explained everything; he was really patient, even with my more obvious questions. I spent the night with him and he wakes me up the next morning. The guy is an obscenely cheerful morning person for someone who drinks like he does!" Jack smiled. O'Lantern was a very animated kind of person, gesticulating as he spoke and looking like he could back flip out of the chair at any moment. Privately, Jack wondered just how old the guy was under the mask.

"My clothes were a bit ragged looking so he offered me a change of clothes but just as I touch the new outfit, the clothes I'm wearing change to match it!" This time Jacko did jump out of his chair. His outfit rippled like the wind was blowing through it. Suddenly, his grey hoodie changed to a familiar shade of blue as his pants became a bit more form-fitting and brown. His shoes disappeared and Jack saw O'Lantern's bare feet. As white frost marks drew themselves across the outfit, Jacko turned around in place to show off his replica of Jack Frost's usual garb. Even his hair had to changed to match Jack's pure white locks.

"Okay, that's pretty cool." Jack admitted finally.

"I know, right?" Jacko said, his mask getting slightly rosy-cheeked as if it could blush. "But it wasn't all fun." Jacko said as he sat back down, his clothes changing into an all black version of Jack's outfit with silver frost marks. His mask definitely changed with his emotions; now O'Lantern was looking sad.

"My powers were very strong when they manifested. I really banged myself up pretty badly. Luckily, the Leprechaun was there when I tried them out and he was able to do a bitch of healing, but I was knocked out for about a day." Having had a taste of Paddy's healing abilities, Jack whistled. His injuries would have been pretty bad to need so much good luck. Especially if the bad luck afterward knocked out an immortal for a full day. Jack had only been out for a few hours at most after Paddy fixed Jack's leaking a power problem.

"When I woke up, I found myself on Mother Nature's Island. She'd worked a bit of magic on me and that's how I got this." He waved his hand over his mask dramatically and the skull face changed into Jacko's namesake. It even glowed like there was a flickering candle inside of it.

Jack marveled at the change. "Can you take it off?"

At his question, the light in the mask dimmed and the pumpkin's goofy carved smile drooped into a frown. "Unfortunately no. Taking it off would release all of my power again and I would have no control over it."

Jack grimaced, partly in sympathy for the other immortal and a little bit for himself. He'd really wanted to see the face under the mask. Fleetingly, he wondered who Jacko might have been out as a mortal, but he pushed that thought away before he drove himself insane. Jamie is gone, Jack told himself, there's no use hoping he'd show up like this! Unaware how his thoughts were affecting his expression, Jack started when O'Lantern tapped Jack's knee.

"Sorry you looked like you were hurting. How do you feel?" The look of concern on the pumpkin mask was comical and Jack had to compose himself before speaking to keep himself from laughing.

"I'm fine. I just got stuck in my own head a bit." Jack smiled reassuringly, but the skeptical look the other immortal was giving him told Jack that he wasn't really buying it.

In spite of his skepticism, Jacko graciously changed subjects. "Look at me! I give you my whole life story and I completely forgets my manners. Mother Nature would be ashamed." Jacko leapt out of his chair again and headed towards the small kitchen area. "Do you want something to drink? Maybe a small snack? I have a few odds and ends around here for when I feel like having a bite."

In no time at all, Jacko had two glasses of water and a pumpkin bucket. He set it all down on the small table between himself and Jack. "Is that...?"

"Yeah, Halloween candy." O'Lantern said as he picked up a glass.

Leaning forward to take his own glass, Jack brushed fingers with his host, who'd been in the act of handing Jack the drink. They both nearly dropped the glass before Jack got a firm grip on it. Both guys blushed. Desperate to speak about anything, Jack leaned over the pumpkin. "Figures. So your holiday is Halloween? What are you doing in Rio?"

"Traditions around here are starting to shift. Finidos is celebrated less, especially in the city. People want to let loose and Halloween is all about the fun. It's starting to catch on around here, So I came down to see what I could do to help that out." Jacko sat down on the couch and took a drink. Jack wasn't sure he liked the proximity.

"So what's a holiday in immortal doing with control of the West Wind?" Jack asked, leaning back with a few selections from the pumpkin bucket.

Jacko nearly choked on his drink. Taking a few moments to compose himself, he responded. "You can tell the difference between winds?"

Jack eyed his host as he bit into the first chocolate. it was really good, even Bunny would have admitted it. "Yeah, temperature helps and then I made an educated guess. I figured with your get up you'd be Fall season oriented, if nothing else. But if you have a holiday, well holiday immortals don't usually have a win d to call. So?"

Wiping himself off with a napkin from the end table, Jacko decided to answer him. "It was Mother Nature's gave me the West Wind so I could get around."

Jack was a bit surprised. Mother Nature wasn't known for her generosity. "She just gave you the West Wind?"

Jacko scratched the back of his neck as he answered. "Well, I had to join her court but..."

"You're a member of the Court of Seasons?" Jack asked incredulously.

Jacko looked rather offended. "What? you saying someone like me couldn't become a member of the court?"

Jack snorted. "There's a difference between seasonal immortals and holiday immortals. Seasonal immortals like me aren't tied down to a make or break holiday, like Bunny and Easter. The trade-off there being that we are not as strong as a holiday immortal on their holiday, but we are more consistently powerful any other day of the year. She tried getting me to join a few decades ago, but I turned her down."

O'Lantern leaned back and took a drink. Jack figured that would have been difficult considering the mask, but there was less water when he set the drink back down. "Why'd you turn down an offer from Mother Nature?"

Jack sighed. He could still remember Nature's expression when he turned her down even after all the decades since. "I wanted someone, some mortal, to believe in me. If they could see me, know me, it would mean the world to me. I wasn't convinced she wanted to help me with that. Mother Nature nearly always has a hidden agenda."

The look on Jacko's mask was one of confusion. Jack clarified. "Not that I think she's bad or evil, I just don't think our goals matched." O'Lantern looks a bit less confused, but now Jack couldn't begin to guess what the strange immortal was thinking. Which reminded Jack of how little he knew that guy. "So what about your life before?"

The confusion was back. "Before what?"

Jack's eyebrows shot up. "Do you remember your life before you were an immortal?"

O'Lantern's pumpkin mask turned a pale creamy yellow. "What do you mean?"

Jack was painfully reminded of a similar conversation between himself and the Tooth Fairy years ago. "Jacko, every immortal was a mortal before they were chosen. You have a life just like the people around here, maybe with a family and friends and who knows what else?"

Jacko stood up suddenly, shakily. "I think it's time for you to leave."

Jack got to his feet less quickly, but more firmly than he had before. "Listen, I'm sorry if this comes as a shock, but I know someone who can..."

Jacko's mask darkened to a burnt orange, the light shining through his eyes, nose, and mouth turned red. "I said OUT, Frost!"

Feeling in no mood to deal with an immortal likely much stronger than himself at the moment, Jack walked calmly to the door. O'Lantern made no move to follow him. Jack paused after he opened the door and turned back. "Look, if you want those memories back..." This time he was caught by a blast of wind that pushed him out of the door and slamed the door after him.

Heatedly, Jack stood up and brushed himself off. He looked back at the slammed door and noticed the knob. With a mischievous grin, Jack decided to play a prank on the angered immortal. He turned the knob to the left three times and it fell off of the wall and into his hand. Resolving to release Jacko in a few days, Jack put the knob in his hoodie pocket and took to the air.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack woke up in his new Antartic digs. The abandoned research facility had made a pretty fair home after a bit of stabilization in the form of ice pillars and walls. Time had done a number on the place, though, and at Jack's current power level it was beyond him to do anything about the huge amounts of snow covering the place. Not that uncovering it would suit his purposes, he still wanted to lay low and avoid attracting attention from either mortals or Guardians.

The Antartic had been great for Jack, he felt better with each passing day. Paddy had been right, though, the recovery was frustratingly slow. The Leprechaun had admitted as much when he told Jack that his powers had been broken and leaking. Jack still dreaded that he might have been cursed somehow. His only hope was that he would feel strong enough with time and then he would have to track down Mother Nature.

He looked at the door knob on his bedside table. Jack had meant to let the Halloween spirit out on his way South, but two thoughts had occurred. First, when he did let Jack O'Lantern out, the other immortal would be incredibly pissed off. Jack knew he wasn't strong enough yet to face another angry immortal. Second, Jack had to figure out a way to get back in Jacko's good graces enough that the other immortal would help him find Mother Nature. Jacko was a member of her Court of Seasons, after all. As of yet, he had no idea how to make things right with Jacko and he knew the problem would only get worse with time.

His thoughts returned to the dreams he'd had. For the first time in too long, they had actually been pleasant. Up until last night whenever Jack had dreamed he'd been plagued with the memories of his last moments with Jamie. Jamie was more than just his first believer; they had been bonded with love. But when he had needed him most, Jack had flown off into the night.

Instead of those last moments, of seeing the hurt and fear in Jamie's eyes, Jack had relived the happier times. He'd remembered holding Jamie in his arms, dancing with Jamie in a meadow, and getting over his fear of water and drowning with his love at his side. Those moments brought happy tears to his eyes, even now. Then he realized what having those good dreams really meant and he grew alert in the cold darkness.

"Sandy." Jack said quietly, casting his eyes around until the short figure appeared in his doorway. The mute golden man waved in response.

Suddenly, the shadows behind the Sandman coalesced into a tall dark figure. When he saw the pale, sneering face of the Nightmare King, Jack jumped out of bed, summoning his staff. He put all of his strength into blasting Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, away from his old friend Sandy. Pitch flinched backwards, but no eruption of black dreamsand grew up in front of him to block Jack's strike. Instead, it was Sandy's own golden dreamsand that flew up to protect Pitch from Jack's attack.

"Sandy?" Jack asked, mystified at the response.

The Sandman walked around the solid wave of dreamsand and ice. Pitch appeared around the other side. The Boogeyman decided to make light of the situation, to no one else's amusement. "Not quite as impressive as the one we made all those years ago." He said as he inspected the frozen sand. "Too bright. Not to mention far less impressive! Didn't you put your all into 'protecting' your little dream-maker?" Pitch's expression was a sickening mix of menace and innocence. Jack wanted nothing more than to punch the dark figure in the face.

Ignoring the taunt, Jack sighed and looked at Sandy. "Why did you stop me? Don't tell me you've joined up with him?" Sandy tried communicating with a flurry of gestures and images in dreamsand above his head. Jack picked out a shamrock, a staff, and a few punctuation marks but it was still a mystery. Unfortunately, Jack had never been very good at interpreting Sandy.

"Ooh, let me explain!" Pitch said gleefully.

"No, let me!" Toothiana flew in around the ice wave and scowled at Pitch. In her hand was a thin staff with a blade at the end that looked like it was made of light. She brandished the weapon at Pitch. "I told you to wait until Sandy was ready for us." Her voice was slightly higher than normal and when she finally was still for a few seconds, Jack noticed that she was smaller than usual.

"Are you okay, Tooth?" Jack asked in spite of himself. He knew he should be fighting them and trying to flee but seeing Sandy with Pitch and a smaller Tooth Fairy than normal had completely thrown him off. He had been expecting yeti's with burlap sacks or a sudden boomerang to the face.

Tooth turned to Jack and frowned in confusion. Then it dawned on her the reason for Jack's concern. "Oh, I'm fine. This is just a smaller version of me; I can split myself up when I need to. I don't like doing it usually but Sandy needed back up to track you down and I definitely couldn't leave everything to the little fairies. So I'm in two places at once." Jack looked apprehensive at her admission of following him here; Tooth decided to start over.

"Okay, let me try again from the top." Pitch leaned against the ice formation, looking bored. Sandy created a golden dreamsand couch and motioned for Jack to join him. Jack sat at the end of his bed, unsure of how much he could trust any of the three immortals in front of him. "We'll start with the letter North got from Sophie. As I'm sure you'd understand, it was a shock. I'll spare you the more unpleasant details and say that North should have waited to send his response. He gathered the Guardians and we decided to track you down and get your side of the story. But just as we were deciding on who should track you, Manny showed up."

Jack's head spun at the speed of these revelations. Especially the last one. "Hold on, you mean the Man in the Moon actually physically showed up on Earth? What could possibly be that important?"

Tooth smiled nervously. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but you." Jack was glad he was sitting down, he was shaking. Why hadn't Manny appeared to him personally if he was so important? Tooth continued. "He came to warn us about two things. First, to not attack you. Manny trusts in you to clear your name."

Tooth paused a moment and Jack seized the opportunity. "What? He couldn't tell me this himself? I've been looking over my shoulder for you guys, living like a mortal for the most part. I was so worried that I'd wake up one day and see North and his swords or Bunny and his boomerangs! That's the whole reason I fled SOUTH for crying out loud! My powers have been on the rocks for months all because I went South to stay away from you all. And all of that even though it would have been easier to go up to Canada or the North Pole!"

Pitch's laugh cut right across Jack's raw nerves. He'd forgotten the Boogeyman's presence, something he intended to never do again. "I thought so!" Pitch said triumphantly. He turned to see two current and one former Guardian glaring at him. With an effort Pitch pulled himself together and fell silent, although he couldn't seem to rid himself of the condescending smile he'd taken on.

"Anyways..." Tooth started again. "Manny told us that the moon wasn't out the night Jamie's ship sank, so even he couldn't be sure what had happened. It didn't look good at first, Jack, especially with the icebergs. But he did see you search without resting for a week straight afterwards. As for appearing to you himself, well, when he decided to do so, you disappeared. It's been difficult to track you, as I'm sure you intended what with the plan the Groundhog made."

Jack smirked resentfully. "Should have known he would sell me out."

"He didn't. Not until we told him why we were after you. I don't know how you did it, Jack, but you actually gained his trust. It was difficult for us to get him to talk about you, and he and Sandy have been friends for ages. I didn't even know you were that close to him. Let alone that he would help you with ways to avoid us."

"He didn't trust me at first." Jack admitted. "Our relationship wasn't good until I saw him in San Francisco. I thought you guys would get in my way. So yeah, I've been avoiding moonlight, traveling by foot or mortal transport and avoiding children."

Silence fell between them. Jack decided to change subjects. "So you said Manny told you two things. One was to not attack me. What was the second?"

"The second was to find out why certain immortals are losing power. You're not the only one, Jack. Pitch has been affected too, in case you couldn't tell." At this, Pitch tried for a menacing glare, but they all ignored him. "It started with the beginning of the year. First Baby New Year, then Cupid, next the May Queen, and then you and Pitch. This power outage has been a big problem. If we don't find the cause then there's no telling who could..."

Jack cut her off rudely. "I get all that. What does that have to do with tracking me? Sounds like you've had no shortage of text subjects, isn't there a pattern?"

Tooth sighed in frustration. "That's the problem. There's not one common denominator aside from the fact you all were cursed. As for test subjects, the May Queen and Cupid turned us down flat. Baby New Year agreed to a test after we got Pitch and that's why we've come for you now after all these months of trying to track you since Paddy fixed your leaking powers."

"We think we can fix you. You'll be as good as new afterwards, back to one hundred percent after only one treatment." Tooth said with a dazzling smile.

"What's the catch?" Jack asked, eyes narrowing.

Tooth hesitated. Pitch sighed and filled in the blank. "Haven't you been paying attention? I'm the catch! You'll need my help to get your powers back to normal."

Jack decided he really hated seeing Pitch smile. "Why would I trust you?"

Pitch pushed off from the ice he'd leaned against and taunted Jack. "What, are you afraid, Jack Frost?"

Jack glared back defiantly. "You tell me."

Pitch's eyes shifted away. Discomfort and uncertainty ran through every dark line in the Nightmare King's body. Jack's eyebrows shot up. "Don't tell me you can't even sense fear?"

Pitch's gaze was back on Jack, hatred practically shooting out from his dark eyes. "I can sense it just fine. It's how I found you, after all. I just need a little physical contact to figure out exactly what's eating at you, Frost. Care to try?" He extended his hand towards Jack, challenging him to grasp it.

Jack looked at Toothiana for confirmation. She turned to Pitch, holding up the staff again. "Stick to the plan, Nightmare King, or I stick this in you!" On closer inspection, Jack noticed certain similarities to a weapon older than he was.

"Isn't that...?" Jack started to ask.

Tooth finished his sentence. "Nightlight's staff? Yes, it is. And it's more than equal to the challenge of keeping a little fear at bay." Pitch backed away from the staff as Tooth shook it at him.

"We do this like we did with Baby New Year. Sandy is going to put you under and Pitch is going to draw out your deepest, darkest fears. From what we can tell, the curse uses those fears to block your powers and keep them from regenerating naturally." Tooth explained.

"And you've tried this before?" Jack asked hesitantly, unwilling to believe it could be so simple.

Toothiana shifted uncomfortably. "Well, we did this with Baby New Year. As the year goes on, he's supposed to age rapidly, but when we got to him he was still a toddler. We couldn't get much information out of him but he agreed to let us try to help him." Tooth shook, remembering the encounter. It still didn't sit well with her that she had to unleash Pitch on the poor youthful looking immortal. "Unfortunately, his deepest fears were pretty dark and he's been...asleep ever since."

"Like a coma?" Jack asked, stunned.

"No, more like hibernation, I guess. At least, that's what Groundhog said. But New Year was aging pretty rapidly. By the time we get back, I'm sure he'll be about normal. He's actually not bad looking in the fall." Tooth admitted.

Before she could regale him with stories of New Year's teeth, Jack finally voiced his distrust. "Why do you want to help me? I still could be some horrible, bondmate killing monster! Why would I trust any of you, let alone the being of pure evil we all fought all those years ago?"

"You don't trust us?" The tears in Tooth's eyes seemed very genuine to Jack and he hated himself in that moment for hurting Tooth like that. She lowered her eyes. "No, I guess you wouldn't. I know it doesn't mean as much as if North was saying it, but I believe you. More than that, so does Manny, Groundhog, and even Paddy. Paddy even went so far as to make me swear to help you."

Jack looked at Sandy, who nodded. Tooth spoke again. "If you'll take it, you have that promise from me. On my word of honor as the Tooth Fairy, Guardian of Childhood Memories, that I am here to help you, Jack Frost. You also have Sandy's word - so to speak - that he will not allow Pitch to inflict more than is necessary on you to fix what has been done against you." Sandy nodded solemnly.

The both extended their hands. Jack was overcome with emotion. He knew that they couldn't go back on their words as Guardians, North had explained the power that having their words of honor meant. Instead of taking their hands, he grabbed them both in a hug. Light flashed around them, sealing their promise. Jack felt tears in his eyes. For the first time in months, he felt like he had at least part of his family back.


	7. Chapter 7

"You won't be alone, by the way." Tooth said brightly. She stood at the foot of Jack's bed as he tried to make himself comfortable. "Sandy is going to be the link between you and Pitch, since Pitch can't get into dreams anymore."

"Rub it in, pixie." Pitch muttered, earning a meaningful glare from the Tooth Fairy.

"Great, no problem. Just the two biggest names in all of dreams are going to be in my head at the same time? Can't wait." Jack said drily, doing his best to ignore the two figures settling at the edge of his bed. Sandy sat on the edge and held a hand out to Pitch. Reluctantly, Pitch took the dream lord's hand.

Tooth saw through Jack's sarcasm. "Don't be afraid, Jack." She said as Sandy summoned a ball of dreamsand.

Pitch couldn't resist. "Well, not yet anyways." Sandy hit Jack with the sand and the last sound he heard before he fell asleep was Pitch's dark laughter.

He felt incredibly cold and wet. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was fully submerged in the pond he drowned in again. Kicking his way up, he grabbed for the broken surface where he'd fallen in, the moon shining brightly overhead. It took a few tries, the ice around the break was fragile and kept making the hole bigger any time he tried pulling himself out. Finally, he managed to grab a solid edge and he pulled himself out and onto the ice. For the first time in centuries, the cold affected him like any other mortal. His body shook violently and he curled up on the ice, wishing he would just black out already.

Gold dust swept around him and Jack felt a rush of warmth as the dreamsand dried him off and covered him in a golden coat. Getting up onto his hands and knees, Jack looked down. The surface of the ice showed Jack a reflection he only barely remembered. In the light of his dreamsand coat he could see that his hair and eyebrows were a deep brown, his skin almost tan. He stood up quickly and back away from the hole in the ice and his reflection.

"So this is what you looked like all those years ago." Pitch's voice nearly froze Jack all over again. "I have to admit, I had you pegged as more of a ginger." Jack looked up. Pitch was gliding over the surface of the ice. Shivering involuntarily Jack threw a hand up to ward off the boogeyman but the gesture was futile. No ice sprang forth to slow down Pitch Black as he strode confidently towards Jack. Now only an arm's length away, Jack's eyes widened in fear. Pitch lifted a hand towards him.

Pitchener, leave him alone. You don't need to touch him now that you are inside his dream. He didn't hear the words, but Jack felt them in his head. Jack's coat streamed off of him and formed a ball between him and the Boogeyman. Sandy stepped out of the ball and flicked a wrist at Pitch, sending the immortal back a few feet.

"Sandy?" In all the years Jack had known him, the Sandman had never spoken once. Even know, his mouth didn't move as words sprang into his mind again.

Here I can speak, not with my voice but with my mind. Sandy 'said' by way of explanation.

"Here, you are interfering with the arrangement. I'm supposed to be showing dear Jack his worst nightmares. Yet, here you are warming him up and giving him comfort." Pitch crossed his arms. "I can't work like this."

You are meant to show Jack his fears, not debilitate him to the point of inaction. Sandy said reproachfully.

Pitch threw his arms up. "He got out of the pond, didn't he? That doesn't sound so inactive to me!"

Sandy ignored him and turned to Jack. Are you alright? He held a hand up and the dreamsand coat appeared.

He looked down at himself and realized his blue hoodie was missing too. It really was like the day he fell into the pond; he was even wearing the same outfit from over three hundred years ago. Now that he was dry, his winter clothes were keeping him warm like they were meant to. Jack shook his head. "Why do I look like a mortal? I'm even affected by the cold and my powers aren't working."

Sandy turned back to glare at Pitch. Care to elaborate on the situation?

Pitch sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if dealing with little children. "Isn't it obvious? This is a representation of Jack's fears. It's actually fairly common for an immortal, even a Guardian." His dark eyes fixed onto Jack's and Jack shivered again. "You're afraid of losing your powers completely. You're scared to be mortal."

"And this is what's draining my powers? Sounds a little 'vicious-cycle' to me." Jack said scoffing.

Pitch smirked. "No, this isn't the only fear draining you. I can sense more even bigger fears. Shall we see them?" Pitch's voice was dripping with a menacing joy.

Jack turned to Sandy. "Are you sure we can trust him?"

I am here and I am strong. Even if you can't see me, I'll be around. Sandy smiled reassuringly. Jack hesitated. Since you can here me, let me reiterate Tooth's words. I, Sanderson Mansnoozie, do promise you, Jack Frost, that I will be there for you to help you with all the power I command as the Sandman, Guardian and Lord of Dreams. He held out his hand. Jack took it instantly and dreamsand swirled around them. When it subsided, Sandy was gone again.

Jack turned to face Pitch. "Okay. What's next?"

Pitch's laugh nearly unnerved him again. "You work in spite of fear, but that isn't all there is to it. As the humans say, the first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem."

"You've already said it. I'm afraid of losing my powers." Jack felt the cold around him subside a bit.

"Is that all I said? At least, that's one down, Frost. Care to know how many more are left?" Pitch said tauntingly.

He stamped his foot in frustration. "Stop playing around, Pitch. There's more to it than that, isn't there? You know fear, you must now how to fight it!" Jack's voice grew increasingly hoarse as he spoke. His legs were shaking and as he looked down at himself, he saw wrinkles forming on his hands. Finally, his legs gave out and he saw his face again in the reflection of the pond.

It was a face he'd never even imagined. Wrinkles, droopy skin, and worst of all, he was bald. His eyebrows had gone silver and Jack was fairly sure he'd soiled himself when he fell. "I'm old."

"Look at you, old man Frost. Take away your special powers and eternal youth and what are you? A pathetic waste of space living on borrowed time." Pitch took a few steps toward him as his old heart nearly gave in out of fear.

He wracked his brain. No, Pitch had said something else. It had sounded like a continuation of the fear of losing his powers, but what if it wasn't? "I'm afraid of being mortal. I don't want to grow old."

Pitch sighed and took a step back. Almost reluctantly, he prompted the ancient-looking Jack. "Not just old, Jack. Not just mortal. What is at the center?"

His arms shook and Jack knew it was only a matter of time until he would end up as just a heap of Frost. "I'm afraid of death."

Rolling his eyes, Pitch glared at him. "You've already done that. Remember, it's kinda how you became a spirit?"

Jack shook with the effort of holding his head up to look at the Boogeyman. "No, it's not that kind of death. It's oblivion or the life beyond this or whatever. I'm afraid of that big unknown that every mortal, except us, faces."

Pitch leaned forward, eyes blacker than almost anything Jack could imagine. "Do you feel it? That numbness creeping into your bones is the end. Even we immortals can feel it. Didn't you ever ask Sandy where he was after I shot him in the back? Then again, he probably wouldn't have been able to say it." Pitch laughed at his own joke. "What series of pictures would one even use to describe it?"

I remember it, Jack. Sandy's voice rang clear in Jack's slowly darkening head. It was horrible. But do you also remember my face before I was completely taken over? Jack brought the memory of that night back up. He saw Sandy go out in a flash of light. My face, Jack, focus. Jack rewound the memory. He had been pretty far away, but he'd kept his eyes on Sandy the whole time. Sandy had fallen to one knee, but then he stood back up. Jack had thought he was going to rally and throw back the darkness creeping over him, but instead Sandy closed his eyes. His face. Sandy looked, peaceful? No, not just that. It was like he accepted…

Jack felt the warmth of the sun. The sound of waves washing over the shore made him open his eyes. He looked around. Then he looked at himself. Blue hoodie, brown pants, no shoes, NO WRINKLES! He almost leapt for joy when he turned and faced Angela Bennett.

His heart leapt, but it lodged itself in his throat. Jamie's mom looked at him with grief and scorn. "I don't know how to feel about you, Jack. I do know how betrayed and hurt Sophie and I have felt; Sophie has even written to Santa." White hot fear tore down Jack's spine at those words. The feeling was just as strong as it had been when he'd heard those words just a few months ago. "More than that, she's gotten a response." Jack's blood chilled; an impressive feat for a winter spirit. He could only imagine what was in either letter, but it was the response that he feared most. "I don't even know why I'm telling you; I should demand that they tear you apart."

Part of him wanted to cry out. The other part wanted to fall into the sand and let the waves wash him away. The numbness of oblivion was looking better now by comparison. He'd grown to love Jamie's family just like his own. Jack loved the Bennett family as much as he loved the Guardians. Now, in one exchange of letters, both families were taken out from underneath him.

Jack turned to fly off. He could only think of fleeing; he had to get away from the people he'd loved who now surely wanted him dead. As he leapt to fly away, however, he crashed back down into the sand again.

"Leaving so soon?" Pitch's voice rang out over the noise of the ocean. Jack whipped his head around to see Pitch standing next to Mrs. Bennett. The Nightmare King reached out and curled Angela's hair back around her ear, exposing her neck.

Jack jumped back up to his feet. "Leave her alone!" Jack said, fury and fear causing him to shake all over again. He shifted his weight nervously.

Undaunted, Pitch caressed Angela's neck with the back of his hand. For her part, Angela seemed frozen; her eyes stuck glaring at Jack unblinkingly. The wind blew in her hair but that was the limit of her movement. "I have to admit, I admire her." Pitch practically cooed lovingly. Jack's stomach turned in disgust.

"She inspired so much fear in you with so few words. With a few sentences, she shattered you Frost. That is incredible; I couldn't have done any better myself!" Pitch moved as if to plant a kiss on her cheek.

"I said leave her alone!" Jack thundered, taking a few steps toward Pitch and throwing a hand towards his foe. Again, nothing happened and Jack curled his hands into fists.

Turning to look at Jack, Pitch smirked in his hateful way. "You would defend her? Even without your powers, you'd protect her?" The boogeyman rolled his eyes, "Very chivalrous of you, but ultimately useless. You've still got no power, Frost. You're still too blocked by fear. And all because of one beautifully…fearsome…mother." Pitch punctuated the last three words with a kiss to Angela's cheek, jaw and neck.

Pulling a dagger out of thin air, Pitch pulled Angela in front of him and held it against her neck. She didn't react, her face still emanated with the grief and hate directed at Jack. "I could help you. One flick of the wrist and she's gone. Mortals are so easy to kill after all."

Jack sank to his knees. "No!"

"Oh, come on, Jack! What are you afraid of?" Pitch's question sank into Jack's brain. Although the nightmare kind hadn't said it to be helpful, the words brought Jack back into focus. What was he afraid of? What was this scene supposed to represent?

"I'm afraid of losing my family. The Guardians. The Bennetts. Both of them took me into their hearts and now they think I betrayed them." Jack said, his heart tearing itself into pieces as Pitch pressed the blade in slightly, drawing a slight hint of blood.

"Oh, boo hoo. Poor little Jack is afraid of his own family. If you think what she can do to your heart is bad, you should wait and see what the Guardians have in store for you. Isn't it better this way?" Pitch asked, holding the knife forward to show the Angela's blood gleaming in the sunlight. "Better to get rid of anyone who can hurt you."

Jack's hands yanked at his hair. "Please, stop! Don't hurt her! It's my fault! I wasn't there for him, Mrs. Bennett. I didn't…"

As if the words were her cue, Angela spoke again. "Save it." She said sharply, stunning both immortals. "It's only a matter of time before the Guardians catch up to you. I can't believe I'm giving you this chance to clear your name, but all I know for sure is that none of this makes sense. If you didn't do it, then you have the rest of my life to prove it. If you did, I trust the Guardians will take care of you." She paused, drawing breath as blood trickled down her neck. "You know where to find me."

Jack's breathing evened out. "I'm afraid of losing her. I'm afraid that I won't have time to tell her that it wasn't me. I'm terrified that her life is so fragile that she'll die before I get to see her look at me with love again. She's more than just Jamie's mom or some mortal in my way. She's my family. I love her like she was my own mother." Angela closed her eyes and disintegrated into golden sand.

The sand whirled into a small cyclone and whips of golden dust flew out and disarmed Pitch. The dagger he'd summoned flew out of his hand. You are more powerful than you let on, Pitchener! Sandy said accusingly. Pitch glared in response, holding his stinging wrist in his other hand.


	8. Chapter 8

"A little power goes a long way in a dream." Pitch Black said as the dagger he'd summoned vanished into thin air.

So you say,Sandy said telepathically, but I have more than a few doubts. That was a disgusting display a few moments ago. Jack tried not to think about Pitch holding a knife to Jamie's mother's throat, but failed. What did you think…?

Pitch interrupted the thought. "I thought I was helping him get over his fears. So far, we've done fairly well."

So Jack has accepted the fear of death and his feelings towards the Guardians and the Bennett family. How much more is there? You must know how much longer this will take.Sandy grabbed Pitch's wrist with one whip and pulled the Boogeyman close. I swear to you, Pitchener, that if you place Jack in another situation like that…

Pitch had flinched away, but Sandy's words provoked him. He interrupted the Guardian again. "Don't make vows lightly, Sandy. Your words carry far too much power in dreams lately. There's so much more at stake here than one little Guardian, in case you've forgotten. If I have to put Frost through a hundred of those scenarios for him to figure out how to reverse the damage done not only to himself but to other immortals, I will do so." A flash of white light erupted from the ground beneath Pitch and Sandy. In an instant, both immortals were gone.

Stunned, Jack wracked his brain to try and figure out what had just happened. What had that light been? Which of the two immortals had used it? Was he alone in his dream, or were they still watching behind the scenes?

As he tried making sense of the situation, he heard a noise behind him. Turning around, Jack looked on in amazement. A black headstone with silver lettering rose from the sand. After he read the inscription, Jack sank to his knees.

'This stone is to honor Son, Brother, and Adventurer Jaime Bennett, lost at sea.

In Memorium Pruinae.'

Angela Bennett knelt down beside him. "You weren't here when we had this made and laid this down. It took a few months to order it. The company that ran the Adventure Club still owns that stretch of beach and they were very gracious to allow us to put this a few feet above the high tide mark." He turned to look at her. "I'm sorry for pushing you away that day and of all those awful things I said. I was just so confused."

Jack turned back to the headstone, confused in his own right by her sudden reappearance. Was this part of Pitch's plan? She drew a breath and spoke again. "Those last three words were something he wrote in his Journal." She nodded as a book appeared in her lap. "I made him keep it so that he would always remember this time in his life. He hated it, but he did it for me." A tear rolled down her cheek.

Deciding to go with it, Jack spoke to her as if she were real. "What do the words mean?"

She sniffed and smiled. "It's Latin. It means 'In Memory of the Frost.'" Jack felt tears rolling down his own face. "He wrote that when he passed away, he wanted those words on his headstone. That way you would know how much he treasured his time with you."

Jack stared at her, nearly convinced she had to be some form of psychological torture invented by Pitch Black. "I can't believe you would honor a request like that. You thought I'd killed him." Jack said, turning away to wipe his face. He felt stupid, talking to some figment of his own imagination. The real Angela wouldn't…

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt her hand on his shoulder. "We almost didn't; it's not like he had a will made up. The day we were going to send the order out for the headstone, Sophie woke me up. We'd been reading the journal together and she'd read ahead of me. I was angry at her at first, but she told me to read the passage that closed out the journal." She opened the book on her lap and passed it to him.

Hands shaking slightly, Jack took Jamie's journal and read the paragraph Angela pointed out. "It's my last day here, mom, and I'm so excited to see you and Sophie again! I can't wait to show you some of the things I've tried and learned. But more than that, I can't wait to tell you how much closer this trip has made Jack and I. Sure, Claire has been a big pain in the neck, but the stress she put up (without even realizing it) between him and I only ended up bringing us closer. I know he has trust issues and the dolt gets jealous too quickly still, but I know the jealousy is because he's afraid. He's never gotten violent on me and with the bond I know he never will."

He continued on with a bit of prodding from Angela. "Jack has over 300 years of bad memories to deal with. Even with a whole lifetime together, I'm not sure I could do enough to make up for that. I need to find some way to remind him after I'm gone that he has plenty of good memories too. That's it! When I pass on, I'll have them write 'In Memorium Pruinae.' I'll tell Jack that it's Latin for In Memory of the Frost, to remind him to treasure the good times we've had instead of focusing on the end."

The book vanished in his hands and he looked over at Angela. "Angela…"

She cut him off. "Please, call me mom." If he'd wondered before, he knew this Angela had to be an illusion. In spite of that, he couldn't let go of the thought that this would be his chance to speak to her, even if it was all in his head.

"Mom." Jack said. "I will find a way to clear my name."

She shook her head at him. "You haven't been paying attention." She said in irritation. "You don't have to do that, Jamie already did…"

"But this is just a dream!" Jack blurted out. "You're not really here!"

Reaching over, she ran a hand through his hair lovingly. "Aren't I?" She laughed softly. He thought her laugh would turn cruel, that she would turn into Pitch or some other monstrous thing. Instead, she continued talking to him, pulling him close to her side.

"You called me here, Jack. Your dreams brought me here, to this place. Of course, I wasn't thrilled to have a knife at my neck when I got here, but at least it wasn't you holding it. In fact, even though you thought I wasn't real you still begged for me to be spared. If Jamie's journal wasn't enough to completely convince me, then you trying to save me without your powers put you over the top. All you need to do now is figure out who summoned a field of icebergs that destroyed the boat and killed my son. And you'll need this to do it." She held out her hand and the headstone in front of them glowed with the snowflake symbol. It was the symbol of his power.

"How did you…?" Jack asked in wonder. That couldn't be his actual power, he couldn't have gotten off so easily. Couldn't he?

She seemed to sense his thoughts and she laughed. Again, it was the pleasant sound he'd only heard a few precious times. "Well, I decided to take a look around inside of your mind when I dissolved into dreamsand. By the way, dissolving is now on my list of least favorite ways to get around." She said, shaking her head as if to clear out the cobwebs. "Didn't hurt, but it was damn confusing for a while. Anyway, when I got my head back together I found that symbol surrounded by a little dark-looking energy. I called out for you, but got the Tooth Fairy's attention instead."

"Tooth is in here too?" Jack asked, bewildered. He thought about how many people had been in his head lately and wondered idly if they'd bothered to wipe their feet on the way in.

Angela laughed. "I always did like your sense of humor. Yes, Tooth took a few shots at the energy around your power with this staff of light in her hands. She told me to grab it and return it to you. We saw you and the little golden fellow…Sandman, was it? Anyway, you both were arguing with Pitch and then Pitch said that horrible thing about making you endure a hundred times worse and Tooth lost her temper. Well, you saw that at any rate." She said, and Jack finally realized what had actually happened moments ago when Pitch and Sandy vanished.

Jack and Angela stood up and Angela hugged him tight. He nearly started crying again from the joy of it, but he managed to wrap his arms around Jamie's mother. "Your mother, too!" She said, reminding him that she could hear his thoughts. "Don't ever doubt it!" She held his shoulders as they separated and she smiled.

She sighed. "I'm probably going to wake up soon. Go get your powers and then find whoever it was and give them a good one for me." She turned to the headstone as she began to fade.

"Mom!" He blurted out before he could stop himself.

Her smile widened. "I hoped I could get you to call me that at least once today. I'm fine, just going back to the waking world. I'll see you there; don't keep me waiting too long!" Finally, she vanished.

Wiping his eyes, Jack walked up to the stone. Jack placed his hand over the symbol. Inside the middle of the snowflake, Jaime's words for him shone brightly. He smiled as he said them to himself. "In Memorium Pruinae. Thank you Jaime, I will remember the good times. I love you so much."

The world flashed a brilliant white blue as wind swirled around him. Feeling a thrum of energy, Jack sat up in his bed. A quick glance around the empty room told him that none of the other immortals were there.

Worried, Jack got up and dismissed the wave of ice and dreamsand that stood in front of his door. Passing through, he heard noises outside of the abandoned research facility. As he made his way up, he could hear cracks like dozens of bullwhips shooting through the air. When he made it to the entrance and opened the door, his heart sank.

Tooth and Sandy were lying on the ground in front of him. Golden dreamsand fell like snow around the entire scene; Sandy must have used a lot of power. Next to where Toothiana lay, Nightlight's staff was broken in two; the light at the tip had gone out. It wasn't hard to tell who had caused all this trouble. The villain was still there, arms folded and eyes staring straight at Jack.

Standing tall in the Antarctic snow was the dark figure of Pitch Black. The dark man stood in stark contrast to the falling dreamsand and pure white snow. By the scene around him and the smug look on his face, Pitch's powers must have made a return as well. Jack pulled his staff out of the air and took a few steps to place himself between the Nightmare King and his fallen friends. When he saw Tooth twitch and Sandy take a breath, Jack took heart. They were just unconscious.

Jack's eyes returned to the root of the problem. When he saw he had Jack's attention, the Boogeyman smiled brightly. "You Guardians might be useful after all! Thank you so much for your help. I feel better than I have in ages!"


	9. Chapter 9

Pitch glared malevolently across the snowy scene at Jack. Tooth and Sandman lay immobile in the snow, knocked out before Jack had made it outside of the abandoned Antarctic research facility he'd been living in.

"Why even try fighting me Jack? It's not like your friends the Tooth Fairy or the Sandman stood a chance against me. They are far stronger than you." Pitch sneered, dodging the next blast of ice that Jack sent his direction with his staff. The Boogeyman was twitching, as if he were full of energy that was threatening to burst out of his body.

"What, no scythe?" Jack taunted, wondering when Pitch was going to strike back.

The Boogeyman laughed viciously. "Regrettably, no. Even now, my connection with the dreamsand is broken. Yet another thing I owe you and those worthless mortals for." As Pitch practically vibrated with power, Jack had his doubts and kept up his guard. "I don't need it, though." Pitch dodged another close-range blast and came back up swinging something in his left hand. Pulling his staff up, Jack managed to block the slash. Jack's eyes flicked down to the object Pitch wielded and then he looked back at Pitch in surprise.

"I can make nightmare into reality." Pitch said, the dagger he had used in Jack's dream and threatened Jamie's mom glowed darkly. A visible aura of black energy built around Pitch and his weapon. Where the aura touched Jack's staff, it crackled with black lines of electricity. The Nightmare King pushed against Jack slowly, drawing more crackling black lightning from the connection point between them.

Pitch's eyes were completely black. "I can't wait to get a chance to use this on dear Angela, this time for real." Suddenly, Pitch lashed out with his leg, catching Jack by surprise. The force of the kick sent Jack flying backwards and then he slid on his back towards the door. His staff flew out of his hands, skidding over close to where the Sandman lay prone. Pushing himself up, Jack sat with his back against the door and looked back at the Boogeyman.

The dark aura only grew as Pitch got closer. He walked slowly, certain in his power and toying with Jack. Carelessly he flipped the dagger into the air a few times, catching it by the pommel as it fell back down. "You know what bothers me most about all of this? Had I only been able to return sooner I'd have the pleasure of killing you're the last light, your first believer, and your soul-mate myself. Believe me; it would not have been as quick as some exploding ship. No, I owe that boy a bit more than that." Pitch stopped mere steps away, still flipping the dagger in one hand. "Then again, inheritance should fall to the next of kin." He said ponderously, his dark smile widening as he continued to speak. "Yes, I believe I will pay my debt to his family; first his dear, amusing mother, and then his little, annoying sist…"

Before he could finish the threat, Jack lost his temper. He struck out with one hand, blasting the dagger mid-air. It flew far behind the Boogeyman, who turned to watch it fall. When he turned back, Pitch glared at Jack. Jack stood, leaning casually against the door. "Looks like you picked up a new trick."

Jack shrugged. "Relatively new, yeah. Haven't had the energy to do that in a while, though, so I guess I owe you a small thank you."

Pitch gave a lurch and Jack blasted him reflexively. The Boogeyman took the hit square in the chest and spun back a dozen feet, somehow managing to stay on his feet. When he came to a stop, Pitch sank to one knee, his body vibrating erratically.

"I'll admit, though. I am a little surprised I can still do this without Jaime. Not that I'm complaining, really." Jack struck again, Pitch threw up his hands and a black shield sprang up although the force of the blast had him sliding back another few feet. "Guess you learn things as you go along."

Pitch put his hands down, the shield disappearing into thin air. The aura of black energy was pulsing out of sync with the vibrations that racked Pitch Black's body. As he readied his next attack, Jack wondered what in blazes was wrong with Pitch. By the look on his face, Pitch was wondering the same thing. The Boogeyman fell to his hands and knees, craning his neck to look at Jack as he spoke. "I suppose that's true, Jackie. And I've learned what to do when it's time to go." Pitch sank into his own shadow; the dark, roughly circular shape stood out in stark contrast to the white, snowy surroundings. The shadow raced across the surface of the ground, making a line straight for the door that Jack guarded.

Jack threw a fist down into the ground, directing his energy under the level of the ground in an arc. It came back up right underneath the shadow and blasted it skyward in a geyser of snow and ice. Pitch re-materialized in the air and flew back again, landing on his back with a loud crack.

Jack went to check on Tooth and Sandy. The Tooth Fairy was sitting up, a lump on the side of her head and a glazed look in her eyes. Sandy looked a bit better as he stood next to his friend. Turning to Jack, Sandy handed him his staff.

"What happened?" Jack asked. Tooth made a moaning sound, but couldn't form words yet. Sandy sighed and slowly formed figures in dreamsand over his head. A dreamsand Tooth Fairy, Sandman and Pitch appeared, all looking ready to fight. The dreamsand Pitch was moving his mouth soundlessly and the dreamsand Tooth Fairy turned angry and flew straight at Pitch. The dreamsand Pitch blocked her first blow with his dagger, but she struck with the other end and struck him solidly in the chest, burying the tip in his chest.

The dreamsand figures stood in shock. Tooth let go of the staff and Pitch grabbed it, the tip breaking off as he tried to pull it out. Angrily, Pitch swung the staff at Tooth, breaking it in half on her head and sending her flying. Sandy tried to strike out, but Pitch pulled him in closer with the whip he'd been struck with and then smacked under the chin by a baseball swing that Pitch landed with what was left of the staff.

"Jack?" Tooth said weakly. Sandy returned to her side, supporting her as she looked towards Jack.

"I'm surprised, Tooth. You fought fiercely." Jack said, trying to compliment her. Instead, he could see tears forming in her eyes.

"I was so angry." Tooth said as she broke into tears. "Everything he's done to us and to you. Then he started talking, well, you know how he is. He got under my skin and I just lost control. When he blocked me, I just saw the opening and took it. I thought he was going to die, and I was happy." Tooth broke down.

"He pushed us pretty far, Tooth. Don't worry. We aren't perfect." Jack hugged her and she gripped him tightly. Sandy joined in, hugging them both from the sides. "I'm just glad to see you guys again." Jack said.

He let go of his friends and glanced over at Pitch. The Nightmare King was still lying spread eagle in the snow. "Are you guys going to be okay?" Jack asked. Sandy nodded and turned back to tend to Toothiana. Jack turned back around and walked slowly to his downed enemy.

As he got closer, he saw something glowing on Pitch's chest; his dark cloak had opened slightly with the blast. Curious, Jack pieced together what it was. Tooth had gotten a very lucky shot at Pitch with Nightlight's staff; the moonbeam tip lodged in the villain's dark heart. "How did you fight like that?" Jack wondered aloud.

Pitch's eyes fluttered and he answered as he panted. "Spite." The Nightmare King started coughing, turning his head to the side. "Just when…I was stronger than ever…that bloody fairy…went for the kill. Didn't think…she had it in her." Pitch gave into another fit of coughing. When he opened his eyes again, Jack could see flecks of white in the black of his eyes. It was as if stars were shining in his eyes.

"Jack Frost, please step aside. Let me see what I can do for him." A voice behind Jack said, surprising him. Jack turned, stepping back away from the Boogeyman. The owner of the voice knelt at Pitch's side. At first, Jack thought it was Jack O'Lantern, but there were several things wrong. To start, his mask was shaped more like a human face instead of Jacko's more circular simple one. His mask was glowing, but with the colors across its face it looked more like a sunrise than Jacko's flickering candle. The male figure wore a robe that was closer to what Pitch wore in style, but a pastel yellow. His hair was a bright golden color and short and tousled effortlessly.

"You're one of Mother Nature's…" Jack got out.

The young man (at least his voice sounded young) cut him off. "Yes, I'm from the Court of Seasons. Summer, if you haven't guessed. As he spoke, he ran his hands over Pitch, they glowed brightly for a moment and then dimmed. "Good." He said finally.

"Not that I would mind Pitch dying, but that's a bit heartless…" Jack started, but he was cut off again.

"No, he's not dying. The moonbeam is forcing out what remains of the fearlings. He'll expel the last ones in a moment, hence the coughing." Taking a look around, the Summer spirit seemed like he was considering his options.

"Fearlings?" Jack asked questioningly. He felt just a touch behind.

"Yes, fearlings. Here's the short version. Kozmotis Pitchener was their jailor after the war. He was tricked into releasing them and they now possess his body. They won't possess him for much longer, by the looks of things." He stood.

"So Pitch Black…?" Jack started, counting on the immortal to cut him off again.

He wasn't disappointed. "…Is Kozmotis Pitchener, one of Tzar Lunanoff's most powerful soldiers and father of my leader." Jack's mind reeled, he'd never heard that Mother Nature was Pitch's daughter. "That's why I'm here. She sent me to do what I could to make sure that Pitch Black becomes Kozmotis Pitchener once more."

Pitch gave a series of progressively worse coughing fits. Mother Nature's Summer spirit looked Jack in the eyes. "Now when he expels them, we must be ready. They cannot be allowed to retake Pitchener, or anyone else. I need you to make a dome of highly reflective ice, if you could." Jack was stunned by the other immortal's eyes. One ring around his pupil was an earthy brown and the second ring was molten gold.

Jack was distracted. "What's your name?"

Stunned, the other immortal blinked. "Um, Raymond. Raymond du la Soleil." He said his name with a slight French accent. It didn't sound purely French, though more like something you'd hear in Louisiana. While he thought, Jack was staring. A bit uncomfortable, Raymond cleared his throat loudly to try and get Jack's attention.

Jack looked down, his pale face flushing from embarrassment. "Um, oh right! Yes, dome. Reflective, yes, I think I can manage…" Mercifully, he was cut off again.

"Good, get to it, we're running out of time." Raymond turned away, much to Jack's disappointment. Shaking himself, Jack set about building the dome.

Jumping on his staff like he was surfing the air, Jack flew around Pitch and Raymond in circles. He used both hands to throw his power into building the ice up the right way to make it strong and reflective. As he did, Jack mentally berated himself. He's not Jaime, you can't feel like that about someone else! What would Jaime think? You only get one soul-mate, right? So what business do you have feeling that way about someone else?

He was so busy beating himself up, he didn't notice when he closed the dome. Unfortunately, Jack had closed himself inside the dome with Raymond and Pitch. As he returned to the ground, Raymond looked up with slight surprise.

"Sorry. Finished the dome…" Jack cut off this time was slightly more ill-tempered than before. Jack was starting to resent the fact that he couldn't finish a sentence around the pushy Summer spirit.

"So I noticed. Perhaps I should have been clearer about where you needed to be after it was completed. Now you're just another body the fearlings could jump into." Jack drew a breath to apologize, but Raymond waved a hand. "No use now, he's just about ready." Jack glanced at Pitch.

The Nightmare King was on his side, his body wracked with dry heaves as dark energy came off of him in waves. Raymond raised his hands and a small glowing dome fell over Pitch. The dark energy continued to come off, but after a few inches away from his body, it dissipated into the golden energy. "That should take care of the smaller ones. The ones that come out of his mouth will be a bit tougher though. Stand back; your ice will help you but only for a while. I'll handle them as much as I can. I just hope that will be good enough."

"I have handled dark creatures before…" Jack started.

Predictably, Raymond spoke over him again. "I've heard, but those nightmares were made mostly of dreamsand. A natural fearling is less solid. I should be able to take care of them with a generous dose of sunlight. Now step back!" Raymond said sharply as dark energy started to pour out of Pitch's mouth.

Jack gripped his staff with both hands and retreated back a few feet to the edge of the dome. When he turned his eyes back on the other two immortals, Raymond was glowing softly. The flow of dark energy increased from Pitch's mouth and dark shapes started spreading across the snow.


End file.
